MOOLOOLABA TRIATHLON 2009

MOOLOOLABA TRIATHLON 2009
Once again the Team Dalby crew made the yearly pilgrimage to Mooloolaba for a weekend of TRIATHLON !!
This year was like any other as we had both teams and individuals lining up for the Olympic distance 1.5km swim/40km bike/10km run. However with the weather not on our side it was going to be a difficult day on the course. The swim was moved into the canal as the surf was too rough, the course was from Charles Clarke Park around an island and back with a 600m run to transition. The currents were strong and was a little rough on the far side of the island which made the second half of the swim all that more difficult. To make matters even more challenging it was raining, not just showers but pouring rain throughout most of the race. Some of our team had to empty the water out of their running shoes in T2. Despite the rain it made for a much cooler race and far more enjoyable. Book again early for next year, kiddo’s..
THE INDIVIDUALS
Our Individual boys Danny Nearhos, Tony Nolan, Jonathan Fawkes & Tom Roger all had high expectations for this year’s race. Nolsey was a fastest Local boy home with a very impressive time of 2:22:39, he finished 32nd in his category and had a highly competitive run time of 43 minutes. Despite finishing with a fair amount of skin missing on his toe and a bit sore, he was pretty happy with his result. Jonathan got off to a slippery start with a super fast swim leg, he carried on his fine form throughout the ride and also onto the run where he scorched a 41 minute split, his final time was 2:23:11, an excellent effort which pushed him into 16th spot in his category. Mooloolaba tri legend Danny had only one thing on his mind and that was CORONA’s at the finish please....... Dan carved up the atrocious conditions and came away with his best ever result at this distance, he is obviously a fish because he loved the water, his time of 2:27:57 was certainly worth the trip! This was Tom’s first individual stab at Mooloolaba, the training had been done and it was time he flexed his muscles. Swimming is not Tom’s first love but he powered through the chop and rips to complete the first leg. Any time Tom may have lost on the difficult swim was quickly made up on the ride and run course. Tom finished in 2:50:13, an excellent result.
As for girls it was all fun and games !! Bron had to withdraw at the 11th hour due to an ongoing injury which left her limping. Rachele and Michelle were sure to fly the Team Dalby Female Flag high and proud. Being in the same age group it was nice to start with someone else we actually knew... Michelle is a fish and took off to the front of the pack quick smart and held on to finish the swim in a whipping 28:26 (awesome), swimming was not Rachele’s friend today. After a rough swim and a few good mouthfuls of salt water Rachele emerged from the dirty water a little worse for wear. As the rained increased so did the speed of these gutsy girls on the bike leg. Michelle got herself into a comfortable rhythm throughout the ride, taking in all in. Rachele had to rid herself of the salt water which she did about 4km in much to the disgust of onlookers.......this was just what she needed. She had a very comfortable ride, feeling strong but leaving enough in reserve for the run. As the girls came in for T2 the rain was pelting down. Rachele got into a good groove early on the run and held on strong to finish in a time of 2:53:41, 50th in her category. Michelle also showed her determination with a solid run to finish in a time of 3:04:09, 72nd in same category. Good Work Girls !!!
THE TEAMS:
No boys here !!
Again the Dalby Girls showed the world how good they are with 2 female teams in this year’s competition. The Dalby Divas Andrea Gormley(although not technically Dalby anymore), Kate Paynter & Clare Byrne comprised a very handy all female affair which left others gasping for breath. All 3 ladies had such impressive splits especially Andrea’s 1:13:38 bike split that they made TOP TEN. The girls finished in 6th spot overall in the time of 2:33:31, an excellent effort. Our other all girl all power outfit was Little Dalby with new Dalbyite Anna Cox at the helm for the swim, the comeback queen BJ Rowney on the bike and pocket rocket Bec Stephenson on the run, this team was nothing to sneeze at. With the nails bitten to the quick Anna hit the water and emerged not long after with a 27 min split, she was smokin’. BJ was EXTREMELY unlucky to have a short stay in the penalty box (I believe that motorbike had tyres slashed later that night) for an otherwise excellent ride in tough knee shaking conditions and Bec, the little speed machine..... what a run 47 minutes. Total time of 2:37:56....awesome work girls.